E-retailers should remind online shoppers of what they want to buy

By Thad RueterSenior Editor

25% of web consumers like retargeted display ads, a new survey finds.

Retargeted display ads resonate with one in four online shoppers because they like to be reminded of products they have shopped, according to a new survey from Bizrate Insights, a unit of Shopzilla Inc.

The customer feedback and ratings provider based its findings on surveys conducted between March 29 and April 3 of 5,343 online shoppers in the United States and Canada. Bizrate asked those consumers questions immediately after they completed purchases from some 5,000 online retailers affiliated with the firm.

“Display retargeting is an effective way to re-engage with customers who have shown a direct interest in specific products,” says Hayley Silver, Bizrate vice president. “Our recent study shows that when executed correctly, many consumers find display retargeting to be a useful and convenient way to find their way back to the sites and products they intended to revisit and purchase.”

The survey more strongly suggests, however, that most consumers don’t seem to care about retargeted display ads, whose content and placement is determined by the products that shoppers browse—for instance, a consumer might see an ad for a product left in an e-retailer’s shopping cart. 60% of the survey respondents say they “feel neutral” about such ads.

The remaining 15% said they didn’t care for the marketing tactic.

The survey also found that 26% of women like retargeted ads, compared with 23% of men. Overall, Bizrate says women also are more likely than men to click on retargeted ads.

The survey results detailed some of the reasons that consumers clicked on the ads, broken down by gender:

• Liking the product in the ads, 36% men, 38% women.

• A convenient way to visit a site the consumers wanted to visit anyway, 27% men, 29% women.

• A reminder to revisit the product or service shown in the ad, 11% men, 14% women.